What Is the History of the Atmos Clock?

Swiss engineer Jean-Léon Reutter invented the Atmos clock in 1928 in his hometown of Neuchâtel. Reutter's original prototype was later bought and perfected by Jaeger-LeCoultre,a renowned clock- and watch-manufacturing company that still makes it today. Atmos clock watches are so treasured by the Swiss people that it remains the official gift of the Swiss Confederation, according to Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Jean-Léon Reutter got the idea for the Atmos clock from a previous mechanical watch created by Cornelis Drebbel in the seventeenth century. The clock uses the changes in atmospheric temperature and barometric pressure to power its own movement. This means that there is never any need to charge or change its battery because the continuous variations in temperature in the surrounding environment create a perpetually powered mechanism. For this reason, people also call the Atmos clock "The Perpetual Clock".

More than 500,000 Atmos clocks have been produced and sold since its creation in 1928 according to Edgar H. Callaway, Jr., author of the book "Wireless Sensor Networks: Architectures and Protocols." Callaway also explains that a simple temperature change of 1 degree Celsius is enough for the clock to accumulate enough energy to run for more than two days without any human intervention.